I got my car around one and half years back, and its not given me any
major problems since then. The only maintenance I gave her was the
regular oil-changes.
[Car Details: 1990 Honda Accord LX Sedan 4D, 142K milage
4-Cyl. 2.2 Liter , Automatic Transmission]
(1) Few months back the alternator went bad, and I had it replaced
from Autozone. I am fairly a new driver and I dont know much about car
details. The autozone people first tricked me into changing the
battery and eventually i had to change the alternator too. It all cost
me around 150$.
(2) Thereafter, after a couple of months the car wouldnt start when I
tried starting it after it had a quite day in the garage. It seemed
the battery got drained out or something, though I didnt feel so 2
days before.. when I last drove it. So I got it jump-started and took
it to FireStone. They said, the alternator I got from Autozone was
faulty and that they would have to change that. That alone cost me
377$!! I had no option since I work from 8 to 5, this is my only car
and I didnt want to bother my friends.
So all in all, though getting the alternator changed is a very common
and a trivial problem it did cost me a lot: (1) around 550$ (2) the
feeling that it is very easy for any mechanic to fool me (3) A
recently developed sense of distrust towards my car (I dont like
that!), though it was not at all her fault in all what happened.
My questions:
- What precautions do I need to take to avoid any potential problem
with my car? I am taking her to a mechanic this weekend, to get her
Engine, Transmission, Suspension etc checked. (I hardly know any of
these terms in detail, but I got the information from kbb). I'll also
have my car tuned up (change spark plugs and all that). Do I need to
give her any other periodic maintenance?
- Are there any good (honest) mechanics around Birmingham (AL). Incase
so, could somebody please give me their contact information?
- Is there anything I can do to not let mechanics fool me any further
(besides learning from my own mistakes) ? Incase there r some
easy-to-learn tutorials about the common car problems please let me
know.
- How bad is getting the time belt changed? I think that might be one
thing I need to do eventually. Please let me know if that has any
potential after-effects (such as leaks) and if its a very delicate job
(something that i should get done only from a talented mechanic)
- And my last question, how many times have i been fooled by
mechanics?? (Autozone/Firestone/or Both :(
Thanks a lot for ur time!!
- posted 17 years ago